Sultan Muizz-ud-din Mohammad bin Sam,
commonly known as Sultan Shahab-ud-din
Mohammad Ghauri is one of
the key persons who played
a significant role in the
establishment of Muslim rule
in South Asia. An ambitious
person, Mohammad Ghauri wanted
to extend his rule towards
South Asia. He took the small
state of Ghazni, in modern
Afghanistan, from his brother
Ghiyas-ud-din Mohammad bin
Sam and turned it into an
empire by conquering vast
territories including Pakistan.
First he captured the area
ruled by the Ghaznavids
and later on extended his
rule to northern India and
upto Bangladesh in the east.
He was an able general and
a brave soldier. He never
let a temporary defeat stand
in his way.

Sultan Mohammad Ghauri attacked Multan
captured the city and appointed
his own governor. From Multan
he proceeded to Uch and captured
it in 1178, Ghauri led an
expedition against Anhiliwara,
capital of Gujrat where he
faced defeat. Soon he found
it impossible to conquer South
Asia through Sindh
and Multan. He thought of
conquering Punjab,
which was the key to South
Asia. In 1179, he conquered
Peshawar.
He then added Sialkot and
used it as a base for next
expeditions especially against
Sultan Khusrau Malik, the
last ruler of Ghaznavid dynasty.
After a few years of war,
Sultan Khusrau Malik was captured
and imprisoned in Ghaur. The
Punjab was then annexed to
his empire and the Ghaznavid
rule in west part of the area,
which is included in Pakistan,
came to an end.

After the fall of Ghaznavids, Mohammad
Ghauri had to face the resistance
of the Rajputs. Prithvi Raj Chuhan
ruler of Delhi also started to worry
after rapid success of Ghauri dynasty
and decided to fight against Mohammad
Ghauri. He made grand preparations
and gathered a large army. According
to famous historian, Mohammad Qasim
Farishta, Prithvi Raj included 200,000
horses, 300 elephants in his army
and marched against the Mohammad Ghauri.
In 1191 both armies met in the field
of Tarain, near Thanesawar. A battle
was fought in which the Ghauri's army
faced a defeat.

Sultan Muhammad Ghauri did not lose heart
and started to organize a
strong army again and invaded
South Asia in 1192. He, with
a force of 120,000 cavalry,
reached a place near Tarain
and encamped there. This time
Prithvi Raj appealed to Rajput
princess to join him to fight
against the Mohammad Ghauri.
About 150 Rajput princes offered
their help and gathered for
a great war. An army alongwith
500,000 horses and 3000 elephants
has been described in history
for this event.

Sultan Mohammad Ghauri, after facing
defeat last time, adopted
a new strategy for this battle.
He divided his army into four
divisions and ordered one
division to engage the Rajputs
at one time while the others
were ordered to take rest.
The battle started in the
historic field of Tarain.
Rajputs fought bravely but
the Mohammad Ghauri's new
tactics proved too strong
for them. The army of Prithvi
Raj failed to resist Ghauri's
attacks. Smelling a defeat,
Prithvi Raj tried to escape
from the battlefield but was
captured. Mohammad Ghauri
marched and captured Delhi.
He was the first Muslim ruler
to conquer Delhi and establish
a Muslim rule in South Asia.

Sultan Mohammad Ghauri was a loyal brother.
He refrained from declaring
his independence in South
Asia, knowing that it would
result in civil war between
the two brothers. Till the
death of Ghiyas-ud-din Mohammad
bin Sam in 1202, Mohammad
Ghauri never considered himself
anything but a general in
his brother's army. After
every victory he would send
the best of the items to his
elder brother in Firuz Koh.
Ghiyas-ud-din reciprocated
by never interfering in the
affairs of his younger brother.
Thus they were each able to
concentrate on their own responsibilities.
As a result, Mohammad Ghauri
managed to push permanent
Muslim rule much further east
than Sultan
Mahmud Ghaznavi did.

Sultan Mohammad Ghauri had no heirs and
thus he treated his slaves
as his sons. It is said that
he trained thousands of Turkish
slaves in the art of warfare
and administration. Most of
his slaves, mostly from Turkistan
modern Central Asia, were
given excellent education.
During his reign many hardworking
and intelligent slaves rose
to positions of excellence.
Once a courtier regretted
that Sultan has no male heirs.
Mohammad Ghauri immediately
replied, "Other monarchs
may have one son, or two sons;
I have thousands of sons.
Namely my Turkish slaves who
will be the heirs of my dominions,
and who, after me, will take
care to preserve my name in
the Friday sermons in the
Mosques throughout these territories".
Mohammad Ghauri's prediction
proved true when he was succeeded
by a dynasty of Turkish Slaves.

Though Sultan Mohammad Ghauri's main
aim was the expansion of his
empire, he also took an interest
in the patronization of education
and learning. Illustrious
Muslim philosopher Fakh-ud-din
Razi and the well know poet
Nizami Aruzi were few of the
big names of his era.

In 1206, Sultan Mohammad Ghauri had to
travel to Lahore
to crush a revolt. On his
way back to Ghazni, his caravan
halted at Damik near Jehlum.
He was killed while offering
his evening prayers. Many
think that the murderer was
an Ismaili. However, some
historians believe that the
murderer belonged to the warrior
Ghakkar (Khokhars) tribe that
resided in the area. While
returning he made a stop at
Dhamik, a small village near
Jhelum. On 15 March 1206 (3rd
of Shaban A.H.) he was praying
in his tents a few raidersentered
his tent and assassinated
him along with his three guards.
The murder killed him so brutally
that there were 22 wounds
on his body. Some historians
say that after defeat by Mohammad
Ghauri, some of the Khokhars
joined Ghauri's army in disguise
and attacked him, which proved
fatal.

Sultan Muhammad Ghauri is remembered
as an empire builder and is
justly called the founder
of the Muslim Empire in South
Asia.